It was a marriage portrait that would have graced even the Golden Age of Dutch painting: the fast track at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, previously host to a 10,000 metre world record by Haile Gebrselassie in 1998 and a 5000 metre world record by Kenenisa Bekele in 2004; and Sifan Hassan, who already vies with Blankers-Koen for the title of greatest ever Dutch athlete.
Unlike Blankers-Koen, who became known as ‘the flying housewife’ for her four gold medals at the 1948 Olympics, Hassan excels over the long distances rather than the sprints. At the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Hengelo on Sunday, she was also aided by the latest in shoe design in the form of Nike ZoomX Dragonfly spikes, and by Wavelight technology, which effectively acts as a pacemaker as it lights up the inside of the track.
The result was a new world record, as Hassan lapped the entire field over 10,000 metres before racing home in a time of 29:06.82. In the process Hassan shattered the previous best set by Almaz Ayana in 2016 by more than ten seconds.
When Almaz ran the twenty-five lap event in 29:17.45 on her way to gold at the Rio Olympics, the 10,000 metre world record had not been broken in 23 years. In fact since Wang Junxia enjoyed a record-breaking year in 1993, nobody had managed to get within 22 seconds of her time of 29:31.78. Wang Junxia was the first woman to race the 10,000 metres under 30 minutes, but the legacy left by the Chinese athlete has long been plagued by allegations of doping.
Now all four long distance records on the track have fallen in the space of ten months. Letesenbet Gidey set a world record in the women’s 5000 metres with a time of 14:06.62 last October in Valencia. At the same meet, Joshua Cheptegei set a world record in the men’s 10,000 metres with a time of 26:11.00, adding to the world record of 12:35.36 which he had achieved over 5000 metres two months earlier in Monaco.
Beyond the fast tracks in Monaco, Valencia, and Hengelo, the common element appears to be the controversial Nike ZoomX Dragonfly spikes. Since 2016, Nike have been pumping out running shoes featuring carbon plates and their patented ZoomX foam midsoles. The carbon plate acts as a stabiliser squished between layers of springy foam, and each new iteration seems to reshape the possibilities for distance running. At the Valencia meet, which was billed as ‘World Record Day’ by organisers, both Cheptegei and Gidey set their records wearing Nike ZoomX Dragonfly spikes.
The shoes raise questions around the legacy of distance running, and prompt concern owing to the apparent disparity between the haves and have-nots. Away from the track, rival brands appear to be catching up. Athletes have afforded a warmer reception to Wavelight technology, which sets the pace by lighting up the inside rail of the track, catching the eye and affording more consistency than traditional pacemakers.
Hassan was a Dutch record holder and world medalist prior to 2016, when she joined up with the Nike Oregon Project and head coach Alberto Salazar, who is currently in the middle of a four-year ban for doping violations. She can now boast a total of four world records, with all-time bests in the mile, the one-hour event, and the women-only 5 kilometre road race. On Sunday she said:
‘Wow, to run this world record here today in Hengelo is something I could only dream of. It’s the perfect confirmation of the hard work we’ve put in getting ready for Tokyo. I am so happy to share this record in front of my Dutch fans. I am so happy.’
Since the Diamond League in Doha just over a week ago brought a slew of meeting records and world leads, the athletes have been stepping up again on the track. On Saturday in Florida, the American Trayvon Bromell made good on the promise he showed as a junior with the seventh-fastest run of all time in the men’s 100 metres. Bromell stormed to a personal best and world lead of 9.77.
Meanwhile in Kingston as the Jamaicans prepared for their national trials, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became the second-fastest woman in history. Fraser-Pryce scorched her competitors and shattered her own personal best, setting a new world lead with a time of 10.63. Only Florence Griffith-Joyner has gone faster, with her world record of 10.49 and times of 10.61 and 10.62 all set during a remarkable 1988 season.
The women’s 100 metres will be one of the most eagerly anticipated events at the Tokyo Olympics, with the diminutive Fraser-Pryce – who gave birth to her son Zyon in 2017 – hoping to add to her extraordinary tally of world and Olympic medals. Her time on Saturday was a shot across the bows of some of her nearest rivals, including her compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah, who was previously tied for the Jamaican national record at 10.70, and the upstart American Sha’Carri Richardson, who held the previous world lead following her time of 10.72 earlier this year in Florida.
Richardson took her share of the credit for Fraser-Pryce’s success, with a tweet which read ‘My presence in this track game making history happen’:
My presence in this track game making history happen,no need for a thank you. š„š„
— ShaāCarri Richardson (@itsshacarri) June 5, 2021
In Hengelo, the British star Dina Asher-Smith reminded everyone that she will also be in the mix over 100 metres, as she went under 11 seconds to head a strong field including the Nigerian Blessing Okagbare. Asher-Smith’s time of 10.92 bettered the previous meeting record of 10.94, set back in 2015 by Dutch heroine Dafne Schippers.
Also on the track, the Puerto Rican Jasmine Camacho-Quinn continued her stellar form in the 100 metre hurdles, adding to her world lead of 12.32 with a time of 12.44 to cap another dominant performance. In the 110 metre hurdles, the reigning Olympic champion Omar McLeod set a season’s best time of 13.08, narrowly missing out on the world lead of 13.07 set by Grant Holloway in Florida in April.
Fred Kerley in the men’s 400 metres, Abderrahman Samba in the men’s 400 metre hurdles, and Jemma Reekie in the women’s 800 metres all put in solid performances. The climax of the night on the track came courtesy of local favourite Femke Bol in the women’s 400 metre hurdles. In her first hurdles race of the season, the prodigious youngster came through in a time of 54.33, and seems set to challenge the American trio of Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, and Shamier Little come the Tokyo Olympics.
Meanwhile Armand Duplantis got back to winning ways in the field, clearing a whopping height of 6.10 in the men’s pole to knock 19 centimetres off the meeting record. The soaring Swede could not quite best his own world record, falling short as he attempted to clear at 6.19, but he still had a message for his friend and rival Sam Kendricks:
‘Since Sam wasnāt going to be here and I was just coming off a loss to him, that was my way to get back at him, to take his meeting record away from him. I havenāt checked my phone yet but Iād imagine Iāll have a text. I felt really motivated coming to this meet. I havenāt felt like that in a pretty long time ā that I really had something to prove. Today I wanted to show everybody that I can still jump really high.’
